


hit the ground running

by lvhlc



Series: i've got no roots [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Ambiguous Relationships, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin & Huang Ren Jun Are Siblings, Gen, M/M, assassin ten, jaehyun is only mentioned like twice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:23:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29734533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lvhlc/pseuds/lvhlc
Summary: sicheng’s new neighbor is quite an interesting character
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Series: i've got no roots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185389
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25
Collections: Challenge #5 — I heard a secret..





	hit the ground running

ten peers through his scope one last time, then he takes a deep breath, counts down from three, and pulls the trigger.

below him, shanghai is busy as ever, willfully ignorant to what just took place only a hundred meters above them. ten wonders if any of them will care, if his actions will have any permanent consequences on the thousands of people stuck in rush hour traffic. 

they'll find out tomorrow. or tonight, if it makes the nightly news. either way, ten doesn't much care.

he doesn't take another shot, and he doesn’t bother to stick around. one gunshot and the neighboring offices will turn a blind eye, but two or three, and they'll start to ask questions.

besides, ten has a plane to catch.

  
  
  
  
  


_ "...i'm not trying to be dad, renjun i'm just— don't talk back to me! hey—" _

ten shoves his face into his pillow and groans. he hates early mornings, but his brand new neighbors are going at it next door and christ, he wonders if kun would fire him if he took one of them out for his own mental stability. 

he's dealt with his fair share of domestic disputes, some nastier than others, so he tosses on a robe and slippers without thinking. 

maybe in another lifetime, ten could've been a therapist. 

(then again, his idea of "solving" these types of issues usually ends with a headshot, so maybe not.)

he's greeted with two men so embroiled in their own conflict that they don't even notice his door slam. 

"excuse me!" ten interrupts their argument, "hi! i'm your neighbor, who was trying to sleep!" 

they both freeze in place, like deer caught in headlights. the taller man turns to the younger and hisses, "go inside, injun!" and this time, the smaller man obeys. 

upon studying his neighbor, ten sees unmistakably wet cheeks and red eyes. he's been crying, obviously quite a bit, and all the fight ten had in him drains away. 

"i'm so sorry you had to see that!" he bows his head, "we wanted to make a good impression here, really. i promise this won't happen again." 

ten's spend years trying to toughen up, to be able to kill without batting an eye. but deep down, no matter what his handler says, ten will always be soft. 

"nonsense," he waves the apology off. "do you prefer tea or coffee?"

  
  
  
  
  


the man's name is sicheng, and he takes his coffee black. 

after much hesitance, he agreed to join ten for breakfast (why ten offered, he wasn't entirely sure), and he calmed down relatively quickly once ten ushered him inside. 

"so," sicheng stared at his mug intently, too shy to meet the older man's eyes, "you're from china?" 

ten hadn't noticed until sicheng pointed it out, but he'd scolded the pair in mandarin, likely because he'd heard them speaking it. 

"thailand." he corrects him, "but i lived in shanghai until two weeks ago." 

"you're new to seoul, then?" ten nods. "us too."

an uncomfortable silence falls over them. so... sicheng starts, at the same time as ten mumbles a why...

they both start laughing then. sicheng has a cute smile, he crinkles his eyes and covers his face with his hands when he laughs, and it's adorable. 

"i was going to ask why you moved to seoul." 

"business." ten replies.

"what to you do?" 

there's the million dollar question. "i do some... freelance stuff, you know how it is. you?" 

"we moved because of some family trouble, my brother and i. he's not taking it well, but—"

ten's cell cuts sicheng off mid sentence. great. there's only one person who calls ten, the whole hitman doesn't allow him much freedom to make friends, and kun only calls when it's important. 

"i'm so sorry to cut this short," he apologizes, "but that's probably a work call i've been waiting for." 

"of course, i shouldn't impose." sicheng lets ten walk him to the front door and bows politely. "oh! i'm sorry, i don't think i caught your name?" 

"li yongqin." 

"well, yongqin, thank you for the hospitality." 

when sicheng leaves, the silence that falls over the apartment feels unwelcome and lonely. 

  
  
  
  
  


"jaehyun jeong, born 02/14/97. Neo Tech Corp's new CFO. seems like he's gotten into some sketchy business."

"no shit, genius. people don't order hits on good upstanding citizens." 

kun sighs the way he always does when ten 'tests his patience.' "you've got to learn to keep quiet in public, ten." 

"i'm not in public." ten says, just as a barista calls out his name. 

"you realize i have a tracker on your phone? and even if i didn't, you're not subtle. go pick up your latte, ten. i'll send the info asap." 

he's barely made it out the front door, in the middle of arguing the need for a gps tracker when—

"woah! watch it!" 

ten frantically hits the end call button before he can hear kun laughing at him. maybe his handler was right, ten should stop talking on the phone in public, but not for fear of leaking confidential info.

in his distraction, ten managed to run head first into someone, spilling coffee all over himself. 

"oh god, i am so sorry!" ten grabs his now empty to go cup off the sidewalk, "i wasn't paying attention, god, i'm so sorry." 

"it's fine, yongqin." ten looks up. sicheng looks more amused than annoyed, a playful smirk teasing his lips. he'd mostly managed to miss the exploding latte, thank god. "are you alright?" 

even though the whole incident was undeniably ten's fault, sicheng buys him another coffee and invites him back to his apartment for lunch. "i still feel like i owe you," he explains, "for your hospitality the other week." 

ten can't say no. he probably should— he's got a lot of digging to do on this jeong jaehyun— but sicheng gives him a hopeful smile and ten wants nothing more than to please him. 

that's the problem with these neighbors. they're just so damn nice. renjun had even baked him cookies as an apology for being so loud. 

ten didn't often get to indulge in that sort of friendly, neighborly behavior. 

"sure," he agrees, "lunch would be wonderful." 

  
  
  
  
  


neither sicheng not renjun actually know how to cook, so lunch consists of take out and leftovers. he doesn't cook well himself, so it's nothing he isn't used to, but sicheng apologizes for it anyway. 

"oh, sicheng,” renjun says, mouth full. "detective moon called. he, uh, thinks he has a lead." 

somethings wrong with the his demeanor. ten doesn't know renjun as well as his brother, but he's seen the kid around enough to know that. he's wringing his hands nervously, and he won't meet sicheng's eyes.

sicheng, meanwhile, either doesn't notice, or willfully turns a blind eye. "did he say anything else?" 

"no. he wants to talk to you, i think. i dunno." 

talk of the detective seemed to force a wedge between the usually close brothers. it was odd, everything about this felt wrong in a way that unnerved ten.

"detective?" he asks.

sicheng chuckles, but it’s tense and forced. "yeah, the cops think our fathers murder was premeditated. organized crime, maybe.” 

ten freezes. “...hold on, murder?"

"oh, c'mon. you definitely heard about it if you're from shanghai. it was all over the news. still is, probably." renjun scoffs. 

  
  


_ "i've got a big hit for you, if you want it. high profile, but not a lot of work."  _

_ "i'm in." _

_ "what," kun scolds, "you aren't gonna ask for details? rookie move."  _

_ ten kicks his feet up on his messy coffee table. "i trust you, kunnie-bear, don't be like that." _

_ his handler chooses to ignore the nickname, but ten can picture the scrunched up look of disgust on his face, and that's enough to make him smile. "Weishen Corp's CEO. the informant included all the information you need, so don't worry about casing the building or anything. he's got a late business meeting this friday, i can have an adjacent office building cleared out for you."  _

_ "great. nice 'n easy. can't wait."  _

_ kun sounds relieved. they both know ten's the best, despite his strict, and often frustrating, moral code. "i'll send you the files and evidence. i've got you tickets to seoul and an apartment rental set up under the name li yongqin." _

_ he hangs up the phone before ten has a chance to respond. the assassin sighs, surveying the mess his small shanghai apartment has become over the past few months.  _

_ ten ignores the tightness in his chest and starts packing.  _

  
  


"...yongqin? you alright?" 

"yes! yes, sorry, i..." he trails off, "i didn't know he was your father. i'm sorry for your loss." 

"it's... alright." renjun waves him off and sicheng sends him a vitriolic glare. 

"he means to say ‘thank you.’” he corrects, and suddenly the brothers are back to their normal bantering. 

ten feels lightheaded and dizzy all of the sudden, his vision swims. "you know, i should... probably be going now. thanks again, for lunch and everything." 

he's out the door before either if them can respond. 

  
  
  
  
  


"who ordered the hit on Weishen Corp?" 

"i'm doing well, ten. how are you? make any headway on the Neo Tech assignment?" 

"i'm serious, kun!" ten snaps, "this is serious. like, jail time serious." 

“ten lee,” kun sighs, “what the fuck did you do?!" 

"i didn't do anything! it's not my fault you got me an apartment down the hall from his children!" 

"you've been talking to his children?! jesus christ, ten!” 

"well how the hell was i supposed to know! should i have asked if they knew anyone i k—" ten cuts himself off and takes a deep breath. "what was i supposed to do, okay? they mentioned a detective and i put the pieces together and freaked." 

ten hears a muffled curse from the other end of the line, and then the call clicks off. some kinda handler he is.

  
  
  
  
  


ten hasn't slept in days, but that's not unusual when he's working a job. he spent the last night parked outside jeong jaehyun's apartment complex, and so far he's got nothing. absolutely nothing. 

and, sure. the man's a powerful businessman, probably filthy rich, and almost definitely tied up in something sketchy (they almost always were). 

but sketchy, sort of legal business practices weren't enough to justify death, not in ten's mind. he's pouring over his files now, looking for anything that'll convince him to pull the trigger, but nothing. jeong jaehyun is just a normal man with a normal wife and daughter. 

so far this Neo Tech case is nothing like Weishen Corp. 

the worst part is that kun's gone completely radio silent on him for almost an entire month now. some kinda handler he is. 

he's just about to call it a night— or rather, a morning, given it's just past nine, when a loud pounding at his door startles him. 

"uh, coming!" ten scrambles, tossing papers randomly into file folders and shoving them into kitchen drawers. he pockets a switchblade that somehow made its way to the table, just in case, and swings the door open. 

ten is used to constantly watching his back. he knows there are plenty of people out there who want him dead, who wouldn't miss the opportunity to take a shot at him, and because of that he's careful. he's always been careful. 

somehow, though, in only a few months, dong sicheng managed to weasel his way into ten's protective barrier.

he's standing outside ten's front door now, holding a tray of baked goods. he invites himself in, placing his gift on the same kitchen table ten was using to plot a man's murder only moments ago. great. 

"don't worry," sicheng jokes, "i didn't bake them, renjun did." 

ten laughs. he and sicheng have become guinea pigs for renjun's newly acquired passion. "thank god for that." 

he reaches for a brownie and sicheng catches his hand. "hey," he meets ten's eyes with a look of genuine concern, "you alright? you've been distant lately." 

"i'm alright. just tired, i haven't slept in a few days, so—"

"a few days?! li yongqin!" he scolds, suddenly herding ten towards his bedroom. "you take a nap! you can come over later." 

ten wants to argue, but he's so damn tired, and it feels nice to have someone look out for him like this. sure, it's kun's job to look out for him, but that's different. 

sicheng is just sweet. he looks out for ten because they're friends. 

(ten doesn't remember the last time he had a friend).

  
  
  
  
  


"where's renjun?" 

"hell if i know, out." 

sicheng hands ten a glass of soju and joins him on the sofa. they've been watching korean dramas lately, as a way to practice their language skills together. more often than not, it ends up with neither boy fully understanding what they're watching, but it's a bit of normalcy that ten craves. 

"damn, i was gonna ask him for some more brownies." 

tonight, like most nights, they watch in silence. it's one of the few times ten enjoys it. 

they're three episodes into true beauty when it happens. "yongqin," sicheng says, "do you believe in the afterlife?"

in lieu of a response, ten says, "is this about your father?"

sicheng shrugs. he sets his glass down now, and turns his full attention to the older boy. "i don't know, just something i've been thinking about."

"i don't know, i guess i've never thought about it the way some people have." 

(that's a lie, ten spent the first few years of his career in a near existential crisis over the concept of heaven and hell, but that's not something that can be easily explained.)

"i don't think he'd be in heaven." he continues, "i didn't actually know father that well, he was always..."

"absent?" 

"yeah." 

"still, that doesn't make the loss any easier. i get it." 

another tense silence falls and every fiber of ten's body is screaming at him to get the hell out of here, but he wants sicheng to open up to him like this. he wants to be someone he can trust. 

not to mention how he reacted the last time sicheng mentioned his father. ten does not want to incriminate himself. 

some time later, sicheng grabs his hand. "yongqin," he says, "you're the first person i've cared about in a long time.” 

and ten is completely speechless. those are words he's never heard before, and they’re coming from a man who barely even knows fhe real him. “ten." he settles for, after a while. "my name is ten." 

  
  
  


_huang injun_. the words bounce around in ten's head. he feels sick. 

this has to be some kind of fucking prank. it has to be. 

_huang injun_. ten's no detective but he's also not stupid and there's only one place he's heard the name injun. 

"open up!" he pounds on the door. 

"yongqin?" renjun's the only one home, but ten already knew that.

he shoves past the boy and shuts the door behind him. “we need to talk." 

"uhh... okay? is it about the brownies? because i can make some more." 

"no, renjun this is serious." ten takes a seat on the sofa and beckons for renjun to join him. he doesn't even know where to begin. "you... you're injun. huang injun." 

renjun freezes, immediately defensive. "you... you don't know what you're talking about. you're out of your mind." 

that’s all the confirmation ten needs. he’s dealt with liars before, and he knows what to look for. “why'd you do it? why?!" 

"what are you, some kind of cop? i won't tell you anything!" 

"i can help you, renjun.” he pleads, “i want to help you, but you need to be honest with me." 

"you don't understand, okay! he was going to kill me!”

hold on, what? ten had read the files front to back and there was nothing mentioned about either of his kids. “he was gonna... what?”

“i... i was looking for some legal documents for my university applications, okay? and i found it. he... he killed her. he killed mom and he paid the courts to let him off.” 

"i know." ten reaches out a comforting hand to the crying boy. "i saw everything. renjun i'm—"

"injun! i'm home!" sicheng freezes when he sees them "...ten? jun? is... everything alright?" 

"renjun,” ten mumbles, “you need to tell him what you told me" 

ten’s never understood what people mean when they say that had an out of body experience, but this feels pretty damn close. he can’t move from his spot on the sofa. sicheng is yelling, and renjun is crying but ten can barely hear them over the ringing in his ears. 

the guilt of killing used to hit like this every time , but ten’s learned how to pretend he doesn’t remember. 

this is different. ten’s never had to deal with the aftermath of his kills before and no matter how hard he tries to justify it, he can’t. 

sicheng looks at him with more hurt and disgust than he knew one person could muster. 

“get out of here.” he says, “now.” 

  
  
  
  
  


ten stuffs a fat envelope into jaehyun’s mailbox. 

if only he knew how lucky he is. 

the taxi is still waiting to take him to the airport, though he dreads getting back in. the ride to jaehyun’s apartment had been... tense.

_think of it like a new adventure._ he’s said to renjun, trying desperately to make moving across the world seem like something fun and exciting rather than something necessary. they both knew the truth.

sicheng wasn’t speaking to either of them, not that ten could blame him. he supposes it was good enough that he hadn’t had both of them arrested. 

“you ready?” the driver asks, as soon as he’s shut the door. 

“i’m ready.” he affirms. to renjun and sicheng, he says, “here’s to our next adventure.”


End file.
